


maybe the radio isn't so bad afterall

by fieldsofwildflowers23



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Paladorks, hehe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25096681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fieldsofwildflowers23/pseuds/fieldsofwildflowers23
Summary: Lance is one of the many students who run the Voltron University Radio Station.One day, Keith hears him on the radio, and is drawn to the voice without a face.Things go from there.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	maybe the radio isn't so bad afterall

It was an early autumn afternoon when Keith first heard Lance’s voice over the radio. He was impatiently waiting in the car for Shiro to grab the books he had left on campus by accident. His phone had already died, otherwise he would’ve plugged in the aux cord, but alas, Keith was forced to listen to the radio. 

Lucky for him, a semi cool song had been on the radio when he first switched it on. It wasn’t Keith’s usual music taste, but it was a unique enough song that he found himself enjoying it. It wasn’t the shitty pop that was all you heard on the radio these days. It was refreshing. 

When the song faded out and a man's speaking voice started bleeding through the speakers, Keith was immediately inclined to switch the radio station. However, something about the man’s voice made him hesitate. 

“Hello, and welcome back everyone,” The man purred, “I hope you enjoyed that last one, it’s one of my favorites. That was ‘Redbone’ by Childish Gambino, and if you liked that, I strongly recommend giving the rest of his music a listen to. Anyway, you all know I don’t like to talk too too much, because, honestly, who the fuck wants to listen to some college student talk on the radio. I bet you all are like, ‘Yeah, we get it, Lance, can you just shut up and play the music now?’ which, I swear to you, I will, and hopefully this won’t take too long,”

Keith let out a huff of laughter at the man’s statement. He really was spitting the facts. When you listen to a music radio station, most people don’t tend to like it when the host starts talking about random stuff they could care less about. Keith usually agreed with most people, but….. There was something about Lance that made Keith content to listen to anything the man had to say. 

“Ceramic Chicken Tea Pots,” 

Keith recoiled in utter confusion, trying to process what the man had said, but the man offered no elaboration. Instead he just said, 

“And now, the weather,”

Keith, despite being still completely confused, leaned forward in his seat to change the station, not wanting to listen to the weather, but then he paused. Instead of the weather, the start of a Beatles song he couldn’t remember the name of started playing through the car speakers. It was a good song, there was no denying that (it  _ WAS _ the Beatles), but it was most certainly not the weather. Keith leaned back in his seat and just stared at his car radio in confusion. It it wasn’t the weather, then why had Lance said it was the weather? Maybe he had made a mistake? But he had seemed pretty confident in his statement, and how on earth would you make a mistake like that. 

The song faded out and another song came on immediately, but this one was some trashy pop song. Keith frowned, but didn’t change the station in hopes of hearing Lance’s voice again. The second song came to an end and the host started talking again,

“Hi!!! What’s up you guys!” A high pitched female voice bled through the radio, “It’s Stella L-” Keith leaned forward and slammed the off button on the radio. That must’ve been the end of Lance’s air time. 

Luckily, before Keith had too much time to wallow in his disappointment, Shiro slid into the drivers side of the car, plopping three heavy textbooks onto Keith’s lap, causing said boy to yelp in pain, earning a cackle from the older man. 

“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” Shiro asked with a grin,

Keith scoffed, “Shiro, what could possibly happen while I’m waiting for you in the car,”

Shiro shrugged, “Lots of things, ya just gotta look around,”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Well, I was listening to the radio and this one host was kinda interesting, I think it was the end of his set though,”

“Oh really? What made him interesting?” Shiro asked, taking his eyes off the road for a split second to send Keith a curious glance.

“I’m not really sure. His voice was nice to listen to, but what he was saying didn’t make any sense,” Keith frowned, glaring at the road ahead of him through the windshield. 

“What’d he say?”

“Well, he said ‘Ceramic Chicken Tea Pots’, offered no elaboration, and then said ‘And Now the Weather’ and a Beatles song came on,”

“Oh,” Shiro let out a surprised laugh, “You were listening to Lance?”

“Yeah,” Keith raised an eyebrow at Shiro, “How’d you know that?”

Shiro gave him a sly smile, “Well, He’s friends with Pidge, so I’ve met him a few times. I found out from Pidge that he hosts the college radio regularly, so I decided to tune on once. He’s great, and he usually says things like that. Stuff that just, doesn’t make any sense at all. Once he brought Pidge and Hunk on with him and they talked for 30 minutes about Alien conspiracy theories. It was great. And that’s how he ends his show. ‘And now the Weather’ I think it’s a reference to a podcast he enjoys, but yeah, Lance is great. Not to mention, he also plays actually good music. None of the trashy stuff that is all you ever hear on the radio anymore,”

Keith placed his head in his hands, trying to process all the information that was being thrown at him, then he said, “Do you know when he’s usually on?”

Shiro glanced at Keith again, “4:00 to 4:45, Tuesdays and Thursdays,” He stated, wiggling his eyebrows at Keith. Keith just rolled his eyes and made a mental note to listen to Lance’s show again some other time. But even Keith couldn’t deny the light blush creeping its way across his pale cheeks. 

  
  
  


The second time Keith heard Lance on the radio was later that same week. He hadn’t been able to listen to him on Tuesday due to his English Lit Class, but he was determined to listen to Lance that following Thursday. 

That Thursday Afternoon he got into his car, a red 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS. It was a much nicer car than Keith had ever dreamed of having. It had been a gift to him from his father when his father had passed a few years prior, and it had sat patiently in the garage until Keith could learn to drive. 

Keith casually steered the car through the mundane streets vaguely near campus. It was a nice sunny day and the air had that crisp tinge in the air that signified the leaves would start falling soon. There were occasionally people strolling down the streets. A young girl talking animatedly to her friend who just smiled and nodded along to reassure the other she was listening. A middle school aged boy trying his hardest to land a kickflip on his skateboard. An elderly woman sat on a bench feeding the squirrels. 

Keith couldn’t help but smile at the strangers he would probably never know, then he turned his attention back to the mostly empty road and turned on the radio. 

The end of some cringy pop song ended and Lance’s voice greeted him in stride, 

“Good Afternoon, Voltron University. It is I, Lance McClain here to save you from the god awful music of today's youths,” 

At that Keith snorted a laugh,

“I hope you all are having a positively medioker day, and don’t get run over by squirrels.  _ Anyway! _ Today I’m gonna start you all off with one of my favorites. Now, may I bless your ears with my man, the legend, Bob Marley,”

Then the radio cut to the beginning of a groovy beat, and a song that sounded vaguely familiar to Keith. Quickly, he found himself humming along to the chorus, not knowing the song well enough to pick up on the words, but familiar enough with the tune to hum along. 

Too soon the song was over. Keith really should just start writing them down, because he really did enjoy everything Lance had played so far. It was refreshing from the pop the radio usually played, as well as the 80’s rock that Keith typically listened to.

Lance’s voice returned to the radio, his voice not too deep, but smooth like caramel. It was a nice voice to listen to, not too obnoxious and loud like most college radio hosts. 

“I sincerely hoped you enjoyed that one, but if you didn’t, then eh, what do I care that you have no taste. Anyway, I have a very special person here with me in the studio today. Everyone please put your eerily long fingernails together in honor of the kindest person you will ever meet, Hunk Garret,”

“Uh, Hi everyone!” A new voice said. The man’s voice was lower than Lances, and held a warmth in it that was a dead give away as to what kind of a person the man was. His voice was full of kindness and acceptance, and sounded like someone you could trust with all of your secrets and he wouldn’t tell a soul. 

“Hunk here was just bringing me my lunch. Don’t judge me, Voltron University, I’m aware that it’s 4 o’clock, which is not a socially acceptable time to be having lunch, but dear listeners, this is what happens when your sleep schedule is as fucked as my own. Wake up at 6 for your 6:30 Class, go to said class, then get back to your dorm and fall back asleep until 1 because you stayed up till 5am doing school work and reading fanfiction. (I’m gonna be honest with you dear listeners, it was mostly reading fanfiction, I never get any work done when I need to.) And then when you wake up you have a granola bar, because it’s too late to have a second breakfast, and it feels weird to eat lunch right after you wake up, so yes dear listeners I am eating lunch at 4pm, and I don’t even feel bad about it, thank you very much.”

A stifled laugh came from the studio, presumably Hunk. There was a short pause and then Hunk burst out into giggles again, after a moment he finally caught his breath enough to speak. “Sorry, I-” Another fit of giggles interrupted his words, “You were just so fucking defencive, and-” His laughter grew louder once more, “It’s like you forgot that we’re in  _ college _ ,”

Lance barked out a laugh and Keith couldn’t help but laugh as well. It was like he was in the room with them. “Shush Hunk,” Lance said, and Keith could tell from his tone that he was grinning, “Anyway, Up next we have a total bop that is dedicated to my niece, Nadia, as this is her favorite song. Just saying, if you guys don’t think this song is a total bop, my four and a half year old niece has better music taste than you, hate to break it to you, but it’s the truth,”

Hunk laughed again, but it was cut off as another song started playing over the radio. It started with some slightly techno kinda sounds, and a funky bassline. Keith recognized the song almost instantly. Gnarls Barkley. Niceeeee. 

Keith found his fingers tapping along to the beat of the song against the metallic red steering wheel. Once again, the song was over too soon. Keith  _ really  _ needed to write these down. 

“See, a fucking bop!” Lance exclaimed once the audio switched back to the studio. 

“That song  _ is  _ a bop,” Hunk emphasized, and Keith couldn’t help but nod in agreement. 

Jesus Christ, he thought. In his mind, Keith was already thinking about Lance and Hunk as if they were best friends and had known each other for years. It was just…. He didn’t know. It was as if he was in on their inside jokes. It was as if he were there with them. It was as if they actually knew each other. But they didn’t. He couldn’t let himself forget that. He didn’t know them at all, and they sure as hell didn’t know him. 

Even if deep down he wanted them to. 

  
  
  


It was the fifth time that Keith heard Lance’s voice that was the kicker. Probably because, this time, it wasn’t through the radio. 

Keith had had a rough day to say the least. Shiro had let him oversleep on accident, forgetting he had his early class that day. Really it was Keith’s fault. He knew he shouldn’t still depend on Shiro to wake him up and remember his schedule. He really should just set an alarm like everyone else, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now, so he settled on blaming Shiro. 

Then, after arriving at class late, his teacher assigned a group project, which honestly, he’s usually fine in, but this one kid, James, is just getting on his nerves. More so than the average human, which really wasn’t saying too much, cause Keith was annoyed by most humans, but this wan in particular was worse. 

Then after that some campus idiots thought it would be a good idea to dump leaves into the school fountain, causing the whole thing to practically explode, soaking anyone in the near vicinity. 

So, here Keith was, soaked to the bone, the chilly autumn breeze feeling a lot colder due to his current state. Then, on his speedy trek to get back to his car so he could lay out his notes to dry, someone ran straight into him, sending his notes flying. Keith groaned in frustration, and the person who ran into him yelped, and quickly started gathering up his notes. Keith lowered himself to the ground as well, gingerly picking up the pages, careful not to damage them in their fragile state. 

“Shit bro, I’m so so sorry, I didn’t see you there,” The boy profusely apologized, but Keith couldn’t help but think his voice sounded incredibly familiar, “People keep telling me ‘Lance, watch where you’re fucking going, one of these days you’re gonna get yourself killed because of it,’ Fuck, I’m rambling, anyway, again, I’m so sorry-”

Keith was staring at the boy wide eyed, frozen in his spot, “Did you say your name was Lance?”

The boy in front of him looked up, and Keith felt his soul leave his chest. The boy’s big ocean blue eyes bore into his own, confusion clear in them, “Yeah? Should I know who you are?”

It took a moment for Keith to jolt himself back into the real world, “I- uh- no, you probably don’t know who I am, I’ve just heard you on the campus radio station,” 

At that Lance relaxed noticeably, a small smile creeping onto his face, “Oh?”

Keith grinned, “Yeah, I don’t usually really enjoy listening to the radio, but I don’t mind it when it’s you. Hearing you talk is interesting,”

Lance smiled wider, “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” then his smile disappeared, “Sorry again about plowing into you and getting your notes all dirty, I hope I can make it up to you somehow,” 

Keith was about to brush him off, saying it was fine and that it had just been an accident, when Lance seemed to notice something. “Why are you all wet?”

Oh. Keith groaned, “Some idiots decided to see what would happen if you put a bunch of leaves in the fountain, and the fountain exploded. I was one of the unlucky passerbys,”

Lance snickered, “What did they think was gonna happen? They were suddenly gonna pass all their exams?”

Keith laughed and shrugged. Lance glanced down at the phone in his hand before jumping up with a shriek, “Oh fuck, I gotta go! Pidge is gonna fucking kill me!” He looked back down at Keith, “Welp, I hope to see ya around then, Mullet,”

And with that Lance began to sprint away, leaving Keith to process the nickname, “It’s not a mullet, Dickhead!” He shouted after Lance,

The boy laughed maniacally, before turning around to face Keith, still keeping up his running pace, “Keep telling yourself that, Mullet!”

Keith tried to frown, but he somehow couldn’t stop the smile creeping its way onto his lips. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Playlist:
> 
> Redbone by Childish Gambino
> 
> Elenor Rigby by The Beatles
> 
> I Shot the Sheriff by Bob Marley & the Wailers
> 
> Blind Mary by Gnarls Barkley
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! :D I really liked writing this, so more chapters should be coming very soon!


End file.
